160 REFUELING WARSHIPS AT SEA. ' 



Government originally over $6,000,000) were 45 miles away, coaling at Guantanamo, 

 utterly useless for fighting purposes. 



JAPANESE BLOCKADE, I9O4. 



In 1904 Admiral Togo blockaded Port Arthur, while the attempt to blockade 

 the Russians in Vladivostok failed. The author has the word of a Japanese naval 

 officer on board the Japanese blockading ships before Vladivostok that the only 

 reason they failed to bottle up the Russian cruisers was because they were unable to 

 coal their ships in a seaway. 



LIEUTENANT DEWAR's GOLD MEDAL PRIZE ESSAY. 



Lieut. A. C. Dewar, R. N., in his Gold Medal Prize Essay before the Royal 

 United Service Institution in 1903, dwelt exhaustively upon the subject of blockades. 

 He pointed to the doubtful value of attempting a blockade should the base of supply 

 be too remote. He gave two striking examples of blockading the port of Toulon 

 with 12 Implacables. In the first instance, the ships of the fleet were to be recoaled 

 at Malta, 550 miles distant; in the second at Pollenza Ray, 154 miles distant. 



When coaling at Malta, 550 miles distant: — 



Each of the 12 Implacables would remain on blockade 10.5 days. 



Each ship would be absent for coaling 5.8 days. 



The efficiency of such a blockade would be about 64% 



When coaling at Pollenza Bay, 154 miles distant: — 



Each ship would remain on blockade 15.5 days. 



Each ship would be absent 3.1 days. 



The efficiency of the blockade becomes 83% 



In the best example 12 Implacables are assigned for blockade duty while only 

 10 ships remain continuously on blockade. Two extra Implacables, costing 

 $10,000,000, must be assigned because of the inability of the 10 ships to refill their 

 coal bunkers at sea. No navy in the world can better afford such extravagance 

 than the British with their 635 ships. 



BRITISH NORTH SEA BLOCKADE, I914 AND I915. 



To-day we find the British Navy blockading the German fleet in the North Sea. 

 This blockade has been efifectively maintained for more than twenty-three weeks. 

 Submarines and destroyers are doubtless stationed not far from Helgoland. Scout 

 and other light cruisers are distributed to form a support for the destroyers and 

 connecting links with the battle fleet. Armored cruisers are doubtless distributed 



